"This SACD is an essential purchase for Bruckner aficionados, as not only does it contain an eloquent performance of Bruckner’s early D minor Symphony WAB 100 (Nullte) in superb sound, but also some other rare orchestral music by the same composer. (…) Strongly recommended." 5/5 ~SA-CD.net

"This SACD is an essential purchase for Bruckner aficionados, as not only does it contain an eloquent performance of Bruckner’s early D minor Symphony WAB 100 (Nullte) in superb sound, but also some other rare orchestral music by the same composer. (…) Strongly recommended." 5/5 ~SA-CD.net

"This SACD is an essential purchase for Bruckner aficionados, as not only does it contain an eloquent performance of Bruckner’s early D minor Symphony WAB 100 (Nullte) in superb sound, but also some other rare orchestral music by the same composer. (…) Strongly recommended." 5/5 ~SA-CD.net

"This SACD is an essential purchase for Bruckner aficionados, as not only does it contain an eloquent performance of Bruckner’s early D minor Symphony WAB 100 (Nullte) in superb sound, but also some other rare orchestral music by the same composer. (…) Strongly recommended." 5/5 ~SA-CD.net

This recording of Bruckner's Eighth Symphony is from Sir John Barbirolli's last London concert, some 10 weeks before his death, when the conductor knew heart problems might overtake him at any time. What better way to say goodbye than with one of the greatest symphonies ever written? And this craggy, towering masterpiece is given as urgent a performance as you'll ever hear (complemented by vivid recorded sound).

Following his CPO recording with the Tapiola Sinfonietta of Anton Bruckner's Symphony in D minor, "Die Nullte," and the Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Mario Venzago presents the Symphony No. 2 in C minor, this time with the Northern Sinfonia. Unlike some contemporary conductors who favor the original 1872 version of this symphony, Venzago performs the more familiar 1877 version, edited by William Carragan. This is the first of Bruckner's symphonies where he expanded the form to an hour duration, and the fertile ideas it contains are appropriate to the greater time frame. Yet this work has never been accepted by audiences in the way most of the later symphonies have, such as the Fourth, Seventh, and Ninth, and the music falters over too many starts and stops, indecisive development, and repetitions. Even so, there is much attractive material here, and Venzago brings it off with a light touch, having the orchestra play delicately and sweetly, almost as if this were a Mendelssohn symphony.

For his project of recording the complete symphonies of Anton Bruckner on CPO, Mario Venzago has chosen to record each symphony with a different orchestra to re-create the sounds that Bruckner would have heard. Considering that Bruckner's experiences with orchestras spanned three decades, he would have witnessed growth of the orchestra's size and the introduction of new instruments, which clearly influenced his decisions when he composed and revised each work. Venzago performs the Symphony No. 8 in C minor with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, following the 1890 version and employing the same instrumentation and ensemble scale, as well as traditional practices that are documented in performances from that period. The result is an Eighth that sounds strikingly different from the other symphonies, quite far removed from the early Romantic orchestra he used in the First, and considerably expanded from the ensembles he would have expected for the Fourth or even the Seventh symphonies.

The 6th Symphony of Anton Bruckner was recorded live for SACD in December 2013 at two concerts in the Hamburg Laeiszhalle. Here, too, critics were unanimous in their enthusiasm, as could be read in the Hamburger Abendblatt of 16 December 2013.